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tv   The Ed Show  MSNBC  October 26, 2012 11:00pm-12:00am EDT

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i think he deserves another shot at this. barack obama, we are i think of time here on this thing. can you hang around and help me finish this? >> sure. >> and we'll post online the results of how we finish this? >> absolutely. >> because we're not going to finish this on this show. okay, so for example, the condoms on porn sets proposition. >> i don't know a great deal about that. >> no? >> it sounds like the right thing to me. good evening, americans. welcome to "the ed show" live from minneapolis tonight. 11 days until the 2012 election. mitt romney tells his biggest lie to date. you won't believe this one. this is "the ed show." let's get to work. >> i saw a story today, that one of the great manufacturers of this state, jeep, now owned by the italians is thinking of moving all production to china. >> mitt romney unleashes a perfect storm of lies trying to fool buckeye state voters.
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former ohio governor ted strickland and congressman tim ryan are here with the truth. >> when you take a look at colin powell, i don't have you to wonder whether that's an endorsement based on issues or whether he has a slightly different reason for supporting president obama. >> going after colin powell. tonight colin powell's former chief of staff lawrence wilkerson on sununu's charge. and michael eric dyson on racism as a campaign tactic in the year 2012. plus righties are freaking out, calling the obama campaign satanic over this ad. >> super uncool to be out and about did you vote, no, i wasn't ready. >> and lives hang in the balance if obama care gets repealed. pearl jam guitarist mike mccready is standing up for people with preexisting conditions and he joins "the ed show" tonight. good to have you with us, folks.
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thanks for watching. all eyes are on ohio in the final weeks of the 2012 election. the romney campaign hit a sour note last night at a rally in the buckeye state. ♪ ♪ and crown from sea, to shining sea ♪ yeah! >> actually, the note mitt romney hit was a heck of a lot worse than that. the republican nominee out of nowhere told a crowd of supporters some unexpected information about auto jobs in nearby toledo, ohio. >> i saw a story today that one of the great manufacturers in this state, jeep, now on the other hand by the italians, is thinking of moving all production to china. i will fight for every good job in america and i'm going to fight to make sure trade is fair. if it's fair, america will win.
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>> moving all production to china. folks, this is a gigantic lie. earlier this week, chrysler's parent company announced that it is in talks to increase operations throughout the entire world. now as bloomberg news reported chrysler referred to adding jeep production sites rather than shifting output from north america to china. translation, chrysler is so flushed with cash, it's looking to expand its operations to other countries, including the world's largest customer, and that would be china. now chrysler's success is no smoke screen whatsoever. today the company announced 1100 new jobs at its jeep assembly plant in detroit, michigan. but wait a minute, mitt romney he didn't say anything about that. you see mitt romney would be talking about job creation then and of course that's something that he says barack obama doesn't know anything about.
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now, chrysler responded to this controversy. i want you to pay close attention to what a corporation said about what mitt romney said. first they start out saying, let's set the record straight. jeep has no intention of shifting production of its jeep models out of north america to china. it's simply reviewing the opportunities to return jeep output to china for the world's largest auto market. u.s. jeep assembly lines will continue to stay in operation, a careful and unbiased reading of the bloomberg take would have saved unnecessary fantasies and extravagant comments. you know what, folks? i don't think the obama campaign could have written that release any better. but that came from chrysler, ripping on mitt romney. in fact, mitt romney's entire campaign is about unnecessary fantasies and extravagant comments. his lie about chrysler was not only dishonest, it was irresponsible. romney said hundreds of jobs
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were at stake with no facts whatsoever to support his claim. where does he get his information. what kind of president is this guy going to be if he gets elected? it's like shouting fire in a crowded theater, don't you think? romney is also a hypocrite. as president obama points out, mitt romney's plan for the auto workers of ohio would have actually sent jobs to china. >> he's hoping you won't remember that his economic plan is more likely to create jobs in china than here in ohio because it rewards companies that shift jobs overseas instead of companies that create jobs right here in ohio, right here in the united states of america. if mitt romney had been president when the auto industry was on the verge of collapse, we might not have an american auto industry today. we'd be buying cars from china instead of selling cars to china. >> so here is where we are. mitt romney's path to the presidency is almost impossible
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without ohio's 18 electoral votes. right now winning ohio is not looking good for romney. six ohio polls were released this week. five of them have president obama leading. one is tied. president obama's average lead in ohio is 2.3 points. that's a big lead, seriously. now families in northern ohio have not forgotten what the rescue of the automobile industry did for their state. one in eight ohio jobs are about the automobile industry. this is why mitt romney is doing everything he possibly can to downplay the impact of the auto rescue. his political director says the obama campaign dropped the auto bailout on us, but there's only so long you can ride that one trick pony. let me ask you this, folks. you think getting a paycheck is a one-trick pony? romney is also trying to project strength in ohio. his campaign called last night's event a victory rally. today romney gave a standard stump speech in iowa, but his campaign called it a victory event.
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so if you believe mitt romney, heck, he's already won the election. the auto rescue was no big deal and ohio jobs are getting shipped over to china. you can't believe a word this guy says. one guy who knows this isn't true is senator rob portman. now, he is one of mitt romney's top surrogates. portman knows romney is toast without ohio. >> if we don't win ohio, it's tough to see us winning the election nationally. it's possible, but it's very difficult. >> along with all of that, we have said that mitt romney is a candidate who is really lacking in detail on every subject. now his electoral chances boil down to one state. the biggest deal in the state of ohio is the economy. ohio's economy would be in dire straits without the rescue of the automobile industry. and mitt romney flat-out opposed the rescue, although he's tried to reinvent that time and time again. it's not surprising mitt romney
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would lie about car manufacturing jobs going to china. if he admits the the truth, he's going to be finished in that state. so he's out there actually creating a story, telling people that a plant is going to be shut down by chrysler and the jobs are going overseas. nothing could be further from the truth. this is just falling right into the hands of the obama campaign. you can't make this stuff up. but you see if he were to talk about the 1100 jobs that chrysler added in detroit, then of course, that would be complimenting the president on job creation and saving the automobile industry. it's a tight spot for romney and his surrogates. no doubt about it. get your cell phones out. i want to know what you think. tonight's question, is lying the only way mitt romney can win ohio? text a for yes, b for no to 622639. you can always go to our blog. we'll bring you results later on in the program. i'm joined by a couple sources who know all about automobile rescue. that is former governor ted
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strickland of ohio. an obama 2012 campaign co-chair. and also with us tonight is congressman tim ryan of ohio. gentlemen, great to have you with us. governor, you first. i can only think that this is a complete disservice to the people of ohio to go out in front of a crowd and erroneously put out information that cuts right to the fabric of what this election is all about and that's jobs. what's your reaction? >> my reaction is that mitt romney is a desperate man. he knows he's losing ohio. if he loses ohio, he's losing the election. for him to do what he did is despicable. think of the angst that those workers felt when they heard him say that. obviously, it showed a lack of judgment and a lack of truthfulness. this man is not ready to be the president of the united states of america. he is -- as jon huntsman said
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during the primary season, he is like a well-oiled weather vane. you never know where mitt romney is going to be on any issue on any day. this is just the latest example of his desperation in trying to reach the ohio voter. but ohioans have figured this guy out. they know who is on their side, and it's barack obama and joe biden. and that's why i am convinced to my depths that ohio is going to do the right thing and the president is going to be reelected with ohio's support. >> okay. congressman ryan, you know, accuracy is important in your business. i mean, to be a public servant and to stand up in front of people and say something that is flat-out false, doesn't this speak to the character of mitt romney to play with people's emotions like this? >> i don't think there's any doubt about it. it does show the kind of coldness that we saw with him at bain capital.
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the kind of detachment that he has when he talks about these issues, that he did not even consider, as governor strickland said, the families that would have been affected in northwest ohio by his comments. they've had enough problems dealing with the romney policies, the bush economic policies, the way they have handled things. but he's not happy with that. he comes in and continues to try to scare people. this is a consistent pattern, though, ed. this is the same kind of business these republicans do. they troll around on the internet. they find one story that's made up and they use it. whether it's todd akin using it like his science that he has for legitimate rape or the goofy stuff that these guys come up with climate change. now he finds an article about china. god knows where it's come from. he peddles it as the truth in ohio. but the reality on the ground is so much different. people are working now because
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of obama. so this nonsense doesn't work. >> congressman, what about the 1100 jobs that chrysler is adding in detroit? why didn't mitt romney say that? >> well, of course, any good news. i'm sure he didn't talk about the 2% growth that we've had. he's not talking about any of the point of view things happening. he didn't want to bring it up because quite frankly there is a lot of people in northwest ohio that would work in those plants, or that would expand because they're part of a supply chain out there. he certainly doesn't want to give obama any credit. people here in ohio are enthusiastic about what's happening in this election and romney is trying to throw water on the fire. but what's actually happening is with all of obama coming in, clinton coming in here, we've got -- we're throwing gas on the fire, and ohio is going to deliver, and they're going to prevent mitt romney from becoming president. >> governor, isn't this a perfect example that mitt romney
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will say anything, anywhere to try to get a vote? the truth just simply doesn't matter? >> absolutely, ed. but ohioans, they figured this guy out. a swiss bank account, investments in the cayman island, saying he likes to fire people, cars with -- i mean homes with elevators for his cars. then we saw him in that videotape talking in such a disparaging, disrespectful way about so many americans and many of those people are ohioans. this guy doesn't understand regular working people. he's so out of touch. so it may be easy for him to come into a community and talk as he did and say he's going to lose all these jobs. not thinking about what it means to those people and how it could hurt them, just to have to listen to that kind of dire forecast. >> here's what i take out of the story. this guy wants to be president of the united states. he takes a morsel of information off the internet. it's totally not checked out.
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not resourced. and he's willing to use it in front of people. this is the most reckless example we have seen of how he would operate. he simply is not qualified to have the responsibility of the presidency and to operate in the oval office. gentlemen, great to have you with us tonight. former governor ted strickland of ohio, and congressman tim ryan. thank you so much. remember to answer tonight's question there at the bottom of the screen. share your thoughts on twitter @edshow and also on facebook. we always want to know what you think. coming up, the war of words. find out why a big endorsement is driving the republicans absolutely crazy tonight. i'll share their shocking reactions with you when we come back. take us to break, meatloaf! ♪ ♪ and crown thy good from sea to
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coming up, john sununu plays the race card and claims that general colin powell's endorsement of president obama is based on his skin color. i'll have reaction from former chief of staff lawrence wilkerson and we'll talk with michael dyson about the role of race in the 2012 election. and a rock star shares his story of living with a preexisting condition and why the affordable health care act is important to him and millions of americans. pearl jam guitarist mike mccready will join me later on the program. share your thoughts with us on facebook and twitter. using the #edshow, we are coming right back. hello? boo! i am the ghost of meals past. when you don't use new pam, this is what you get. residue?
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download zeebox free, and say "woah" every time you watch tv. welcome back to "the ed show." thanks for watching tonight. it is big news when one of the most prominent republicans of the bush administration endorses a democrat for president. tonight the reaction to the endorsement is making headlines as well. colin paul, the former general carefully laid out his case in support of reelecting president obama on national television yesterday morning. >> i think generally we have come out of the dive and we're starting to gain altitude. i also saw the president get us out of one war and start to get us out of a second war and not into any new wars. i'm more comfortable with president obama and his administration when it comes to issues like what are we going to do about climate? what are we going to do about edge gag education, what are we going?
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what are we going to do about immigration? i think we ought to keep on the track that we are on. >> the former secretary of state ruffled some republican feathers. the romney campaign deployed former governor john sununu to respond. that's when things got ugly. >> when you take a look at colin paul, you have to wonder whether that's an endorsement mace basted on issues or whether he has a slightly different reason for preferring president obama. >> what reason would that be? >> well, when you have somebody of your own race that you're proud of being president of the united states, i applaud colin for standing with him. >> did you catch the first line from sununu? here it is. >> when you take a look at colin powell -- >> he said, when you take a look at colin powell. as if it's obvious why powell would endorse a black president because he's a black guy too, right? this is outrageous. this morning radio host michael had an interview with the president and asked the president of the united states if he was offended by sununu's remarks. >> any suggestion that general
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powell would make such a profound statement in such an important election based on anything other than what he thought was what is going to be best for america i think doesn't make much sense. >> well, here comes the mop-up. sununu has now issued a statement calling general powell a friend and says that he respects the endorsement. he says, i do not doubt that it was based on anything but his support for the president's policies. it's not exactly an apology, is it, folks? sununu clearly stated he thought powell's decision was influenced by race. it's certainly not about race. it's about policy and the performance of the president of the united states over the last four years. general powell doesn't think romney is ready for the job. as for sununu, he's just coming off as an angry old white guy who just doesn't like diversity.
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let's turn to colonel lawrence wilkerson, former chief of staff at the state department during colin powell's term and currently the visiting professor at the college of william & mary. right to the point, what do you think of the assessment of john sununu? >> i have respect for him as a member of the party, but no respect for the position that he seemed to codify. look at me, ed, i'm white. i'm not black. colin powell picked me because of the content of my character and competence, as he did every asian, hispanic, white person, black person who worked for him, when he was chairman and when he was secretary of state. to say that colin powell would endorse president obama because of his skin color is like saying mother teresa worked for profit. >> do you agree with general powell's endorsement? he is endorsing the president of the united states, and he very clearly stated why. would you go along with that?
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do you agree with that? >> i won't speak for him, but i will say that i thought he was rather forthright in the way he characterized it. i agree basically with the way he characterized it. president obama inherited a catastrophe of failing housing market, a collapsing automobile industry, a huge debt, 800,000 jobs lost. he inherited what george bush and dick cheney gave him. in the four years he's been president, he's made steady improvement. he stabilized the financial system, he saved the automobile industry. he needs another four years in order to make more improvements because there's still lots of improvements that need to be made, including more jobs. so let's give him four years rather than go to a man who is so slick that we don't even know from the primaries to now what he stands for. >> colonel wilkerson, in the comment that john sununu made, he said when you look at colin
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powell, there may be some other reasons why he would support president obama. what does this say, if anything, about the republican party? isn't this getting to be somewhat of a brand of the republican party? >> on governor sununu's part, i think it was an unfortunate slip of words. but you're insinuating something, and you're insin nating something that is absolutely accurate. my party, unfortunately, is the bastion of those people, not all of them, but most of them who are still basing their decisions on race. let me just be candid. my party is full of racists. the real reason a considerable portion of my party wants president obama out of the white house has nothing to do with the content of his character, nothing to do with his competence as commander in chief and president and everything to do with the color of his skin. and that's despicable. >> what does it say about mitt romney to allow john sununu to slip away with this without
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repercussion whatsoever? >> i think it says that mitt romney will use any tactic whatsoever to win the white house. >> colonel lawrence wilkerson, great to have you with us. tonight on "the ed show." i appreciate your candor so much. thank you for visiting with us tonight. this isn't the first time that john sununu has engaged in race baiting. so why does the romney campaign keep using this guy as a surrogate? michael eric dyson will weigh in next. and then mitt romney has no plans to cut ties with richard mourdock. what kind of message does that send to american women? i'll ask terry o'neal. stay tuned. we're right back on "the ed show." i don't spend money on gasoline. i am probably going to the gas station about once a month. last time i was at a gas station was about...i would say... two months ago. i very rarely put gas
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got a slightly different reason for preferring president obama. >> what reason would that be? >> well, i think when you have somebody of your own race that you're proud of being president of the united states, i applaud colin for standing with him. >> that was former new hampshire governor and top mitt romney surrogate john sununu accusing former secretary of state colin powell of issuing a racially-motivated endorsement of president obama. sununu has an active role in the romney campaign. this isn't the first time that sununu has race baited while advocating for the republican nominee. and yet the romney campaign just keeps putting him out there. >> the president clearly demonstrated that he has absolutely no idea how the american economy functions. i wish this this president would learn how to be an american. >> he has no idea how the american system functions. and we shouldn't be surprised
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about that. because he spent his early years in hawaii smoking something. >> people saw last night was a president that revealed his incompetence, how lazy and detached he is. >> governor, i want to give you a chance maybe to take it back. did you mean to call the president of the united states lazy? >> yes. >> joining me now is michael eric dyson, msnbc political analyst and professor of sociology at georgetown university. michael, great to have you with us again tonight. let's see, he hopes that barack obama learns something. he accuses him of smoking something, and oh, by the way, he's lazy. and now this most recent thing. when you look at colin powell, why hasn't the romney campaign stopped using this guy on television or at least tried to reel him in of sorts. your thoughts. >> apparently the romney administration, if you will, the
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romney campaign is comfortable with presenting john sununu as its face when it comes to race baiting about the president of the united states. all of the vicious stereotypes that have circulated about black men at one point or another congregate around the rhetoric that john sununu uses and directs toward barack obama. president obama is lazy. he's ill prepared. he's disengaged. he's not a true american. this is the repetition of an untruth that they believe said often enough and repeated often enough will become true and at least stick to a few people's minds. not the masses of americans, but enough people to make a difference. there's a difference understanding of the swing vote and they are hoping that will stick. there's no explanation why there's a guy who continues to insult the president continues to be the face of the romney campaign when it comes to these issues. >> and of course, the candidate himself has yet to make any kind of comment that he thinks that maybe mr. sununu may have been over the line.
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he continues to support him. does not command any kind of does not demand any kind of clarification. in fact, the statement he put out was anything but an apology. what does this say about romney's leadership, professor? >> it says that romney is ill equipped to deal with issues that are uncomfortable. he has no social responsibility when it comes to arguing with his own representatives about how they should appropriately represent him. or it suggests that he is, you know, implicitly at least in agreement with the vicious attitudes of mr. sununu. that would be quite dangerous that would be quite striking, and fundamentally, that would be an extension of the beliefs of a campaign that's not been very sensitive around the issues of race. when you couple that insensitivity with the effect of these remarks, all you can conclude, ed, is that this is what the man believes, and he allows his attack dog to go out there and say things he can't
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directly say. >> professor, we just had lawrence wilkerson on, former chief of staff for colin powell and he made this comment. just a few moments ago. i want you to respond to it. here it is. >> my party is full of racists. and the real reason a considerable portion of my party wants president obama out of the white house has nothing to do with the content of his character, nothing to do with with his competence as commander and chief and president, and everything to do with the color of his skin. >> professor dyson, your response to that. >> there it is. the truth has never been more clearly spoken than when he expressed that. here is the presupposition of so many people in the republican party, the far right wing who want to find any excuse to get president barack obama out of office. isn't it interesting that john sununu says that the only reason colin powell supported him is because he's black. does that mean any time a white politician is supported by a white in an exclusively white campaign that there is a racial
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element there, that they are proud of that white person? how ridiculous? how ludicrous is that? so african-american people are held to a different standard, are not seen as american are, lazy. by projecting all these stereotypes, it's not the president of the united states being insulted, it's the entirety of african-american people. that's why this insult rings so powerfully. that's why the viewpoints of john sununu are dangerous, and that's why i think mitt romney is a coward for not standing up and stepping up and speaking out against the vitriol that his surrogate is spewing. >> it's been a terrible week for the romney campaign. you've got a bad debate on monday night. you've got the mourdock explosion on the war on women. you have him lying to the people in ohio last week about shipping jobs overseas, and now you have his top surrogate saying, you know, when you look at colin powell, there might be another reason why he's supporting barack obama. i don't know how much of a
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disastrous week the romney camp could have had. michael eric dyson, great to have you with us. there is a lot more coming up in the next half hour of "the ed show." stay with us. we're coming back. >> there's so much at stake. i hope you'll join me in supporting richard mourdock. >> the romney campaign now says they have no control over their ad endorsing richard mourdock. more fallout from the rape remarks. terri o'neill is next. your first time shouldn't be with just anybody. you want to do it with a great guy. >> righties freak out over the obama campaign's lena dunham ad. wait until you hear what ronald reagan has to say about it. and pearl jam takes on preexisting conditions. >> for myself, i have a preexisting condition. and i feel like i have some hope. >> tonight pearl jam guitarist mike mccready on why the country needs to vote to keep obama care.
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welcome back to "the ed show." thanks for watching tonight.
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it's been 72 hours and mitt romney remains silent on indiana senate candidate richard mourdock. mourdock said at a debate earlier this week that pregnancies that result from rape are a gift from god. and mitt romney has publically shown he has no intention of cutting ties with the extremist candidate. romney has repeatedly ignored reporters' questions on the campaign trail. instead romney's campaign issued a weak statement of support for mourdock. then there's mitt romney's tv ad endorsing mourdock made one day before mourdock made this offending comment. >> this fall i'm supporting richard mourdock for senate. >> that ad has not been taken down. in fact, today romney's senior adviser eric fehrnstrom would not interfere with mourdock's advertising.
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that's his decision when asked whether the campaign wants mourdock to remove the ads. he added that romney feels he's addressed the matter and doesn't plan to discuss it further. this is an issue of leadership and of character, no question about it. vice president biden spoke about that on the campaign trail earlier, tying both mourdock and todd akin to the republican ticket. >> they made it very, very clear, made it very clear they do not believe a woman has a right to control her own body. they can't even -- they can't even get up the gumption to condemn the statements made by two of their candidates for the united states senate. it's not enough to tell me you don't agree. it's have the moral courage to stand up and say what they said was wrong, simply wrong. >> i'm joined by terri o'neill, tonight, president of the national organization for women. terry, great to have you with us.
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you know, the ad has not been taken down. governor romney says that, you know, he's properly addressed all of this. does it matter at this it point? hasn't the damage been done that they are not going to be able to reverse this in the next ten days? >> i don't think they want to reverse it? i don't think they are going to be able to reverse it, even if they want to. i think romney believes that abortion should be criminal in all cases. he has a personal history of trying to stop a woman from having an abortion when her very life was being threatened by the pregnancy. her father was so upset at romney's efforts to stop her from exercising this choice he threw romney out of his home and he was recently interviewed and is still angry about it. mitt romney can't rinse off richard mourdock's comments. mourdock and romney and paul ryan and todd akin, these men are pursuing policies that are extremely dangerous for women. i think that women are going to know it it and i think that the tide is now going to turn very sharply against romney among women.
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>> it's not just mourdock and akin. there's a collection of these people. in fact, they are just -- mourdock is just one of 13 republican senate candidates who do not support abortion in cases of rape. >> right. >> i mean, this crowd is growing. what's it say for the future of women's rights and health care in america? >> you know, so many people are having a hard time, i think, wrapping their minds around what's going on in the republican party and you're absolutely right. this is not just those four men. what's happening is since citizens united which led them to the 2010 elections with tea party extremists coming in, the control of the republican party has shifted to the most extreme elements in that party. the republican party is notorious for once you get the levers of power, you hold total control. you know, it's not just happening in senate races, though it's there too.
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in the states, florida is a classic example. voters are being asked to approve a ballot amendment that would selectively undo the right of privacy just for women, just for purposes of abortion. and another ballot amendment to allow public funding for religion. so defund and block women's basic health at the same time that you provide lots of public funding for religion. this is going on at the state and federal level. and my only concern is that people will not wake up to it soon enough. but i think women are waking up to it soon enough, and that is why we're going to win. >> it's been 72 hours since the mourdock story has been unearthed nationally. do you see a change? do you see this really affecting this election? do you really see that women are waking up to this agenda? >> you know, i can tell you that we have volunteers in swing states like virginia and ohio
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and wisconsin, and what i'm seeing is more energy. more energy on our side. more people calling and saying we want to get on the phones with you and go door to door with your activists. i am seeing that. >> terry o'neill, great to have you with us tonight. i appreciate your time. coming up, conservatives are clutching their pearls over an obama campaign ad that recycles a joke made by one of their idols over 30 years ago. stay tuned. [ male announcer ] take dayquil... [ ding! ]
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26-year-old lena dunham, creator and star of the hbo
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series "girls" has become one of the most divisive voice of generation y, but a powerful voice nonetheless. so when she coordinated with the obama campaign to make an ad, there was bound to make some waves. >> your first time shouldn't be with just anybody. you want to do it with a great guy. it should be with a guy with beautiful -- someone who cares about and understands women. a guy who carries whether you get health insurance, specifically whether you get birth control. the consequences are huge. my first time voting was amazing. it was a line in the sand. before i was a girl, now i was a woman. i went to the polling station, pulled back the curtain. i voted for barack obama. >> oh, conservatives are outraged. think about this. the party that cannot stop redefining rape is up in arms over a suggestive ad meant to encourage young people to vote. rush limbaugh was certainly showing no sense of irony. here called the ad insulting to women.
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kelly fenton, the deputy chair of the minnesota republican party has since deleted a tweet saying that president obama was advised by satan. further proof we live in a fallen world destined for hell fire. now that's just a sampling. conservatives focusing on the innuendo simply are missing the point. there's nothing explicit here. humor is used to make serious points about policies affecting the audience dunham is speaking to, and empowering them and getting them to go out and vote. listen, if republicans want to know who is responsible for the joke comparing voting to sex, well, they should take a look at their own party. let's go back to 1980. >> i know what it's like the first time you pull that republican lever because i used to be a democrat myself. i can tell you, it only hurts for a minute. and then you'll feel just great.
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>> get a life, republicans. tonight in our survey i asked, is lying the only way mitt romney can win in ohio? 98% of you said yes. 2% of you said no. coming up, mitt romney has promised if he's elected, he will repeal obama care on day one. if this happens, people with preexisting conditions, well they are going to go back to square one. up next, guitarist mike mccready on why the country needs to vote ♪
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to volunteer to help those in need. when a twinge of back pain surprises him. morning starts in high spirits, but there's a growing pain in his lower back. as lines grow longer, his pain continues to linger. but after a long day of helping others, he gets some helpful advice. just two aleve have the strength to keep back pain away all day. today, jason chose aleve. just two pills for all day pain relief.
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try aleve d for strong, all day long sinus and headache relief. i will repeal obama care on day one with all the energy i can muster. >> we'll repeal obama care. >> we'll repeal obama care. >> we're going to repeal obama care. >> we do provide care for people who don't have insurance. if someone has a heart attack, they don't sit in their apartment and die. we pick them up in an ambulance and take them to the hospital and give them care. >> and in the big finish tonight, as you can see, the stakes are so high in this election people's lives literally depend on the outcome. mitt romney has said many times if he's elected, he will repeal obama care on day one. if romney gets his way, it's back to business as usual for health insurance companies in this country. they'll be back to imposing
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lifetime limits on coverage. if you're under 26, you can say good-bye to your parent's health care plan. you can say good-bye to free checkups. and most importantly, if you have a preexisting condition, you can be denied health coverage in america under the old system. our guest is the lead guitarist for pearl jam. mike mccready knows all about being denied coverage for having a preexisting condition. he's a big advocate of obama care and put out this video supporting affordable care act. >> disease keeps reoccurring. if you can get the insurance for that, your life will be better. it's very hard to do it, to have chron's and go on the road. i'd have to run off stage.
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it's equally as hard to have to drive to a 9-5 job. because of the affordable care act, we're about to have health care for everyone. i have a preexisting condition and i feel like i have some hope. anybody who doesn't have the means that i have will have it too. >> we are joined tonight on "the ed show." mike mccready, lead guitarist for the rock band pearl jam. great to have you with us. and thank you for speaking up. i had not seen that little clip until right now. it's very effective. give us some background on your situation and why you're supporting the affordable care act. >> thank you for having me on. i'm supporting the affordable care act because i have a preexisting condition called chron's disease. i have been denied twice by
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insurance companies and felt the sting of that. and it was -- it made me realize that i'm pretty fortunate and the people that are less fortunate than me, teachers, kids in school, truck drivers, anybody around america that maybe are not in a place that i'm at, if they are having a preexisting condition or any kind of troubles with disease and can't get health care, i don't know what they go through other than terrible suffering and pain. that makes me crazy. i don't believe that they should have to. >> with what you've been through, do you feel like america is not treating you fairly and there's a real sense of unfairness throughout all this? we're a better country than this? what about that? >> i don't necessarily feel america is treating me unfairly. i feel that america is a land of opportunity, the land of milk
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and honey. all the cliches i grew up learning. but it is a land of opportunity where anything possible can happen. and it did for me because of where i live. and i think that we're better than not allowing our people to not have insurance. we're a better country than that. and i think we can be a beacon of hope and light in terms of health care around the world. >> what do you make of mitt romney's emergency room comment? how does that strike you? >> you'll have to restate it because i don't recall. >> he said if people get sick, they can just go to the emergency room. >> yeah. i know that it's a lot more expensive than just that. and in terms of thinking about the middle class or the lower
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class, the poor people, when you just go into an emergency room, you're going to end up spend ing a lot of money. just an example of a $10 aspirin and multiply that by whatever else you have to take. certain drugs you have to take $1,000 a shot. and that just seems ridiculous to me. i don't think it's just that easy going into an emergency room. you may have to mortgage your house to actually take care of your sick child. >> i commend you for coming out and doing this advocacy work. it's very important. the young people that follow your work. i have to ask you. your favorite song your group has ever recorded? i would be remissed if i didn't ask you that. >> "in hiding" that stone wrote.